LETTER: Thanks to first responders and bystanders

Re: “Heart attack survived thanks to first responders,” letter May 10 in The Chilliwack Progress.

Often one encounters the nicest people under less than favourable circumstances.

On Friday last, just as Alice Mehr’s gracious letter was being read throughout this city, I had my own occasion to experience “heart-felt” gratitude after an inadvertent fall on to the roadway adjacent to this newspaper.

Thank you to the very kind ladies who formed a protective circle against traffic and made sure I was comfortable on the pavement (for I could not be moved). I am so fortunate that you were there to render timely aid when I needed it.

Thank you to the police constable who checked my identity details to make sure I was still lucid and not brain-damaged.

Thank you to the ambulance team who made sure that nothing was broken (except for my pride) and patched me up so that I could go home on my own. Your professionalism and genuine caring made all the difference.

And yes, Alice, we in the Fraser Valley, all million-plus of us, are so fortunate to have the “back up” option at Royal Columbian Hospital’s cardiology intervention team, whose excellence and renowned expertise is beyond dispute.

In closing, I wish you, Alice, and myself of course, many, many more hearbeats to come.